beautiful woman

there was a placid elegance 

to the manner in which 

she draped her aged,

delicate, long fingers – still and calm – 

upon, the trouser folds arrayed 

atop her knee

and crackled a soft chuckle,  

and replied
the words, “in theory” 

when I asked, if things were going better –

for she’d had a bout of misery:  

bad luck, bad health as bad . . . 

about as tough as hard, hard days of living 

–  dismally – can be: 

for old ladies – alone and poor.

“It’s all good”, she smiled:  bright,  

kind – warmly, tenderly . . .

as she struggled to her feet  

and took her cane

– her bowed back, an arc:  

a hunched, stooped arc, 

of mean, relentless weary pain –

and gushed: “Just wonderful ! ! !  

to come . . . upon you, once again.” 

photo:  Old Building: Hanging In, Cheerily - W. Bourke

© 2014 Wendy Bourke  

campfire ambrosia

the campfire crackle, 

at day’s end, 

is as peaceful as a lullaby

the woods sigh,  

in leafy yawns 

and cricket chirps 

and frog pond croaks

and, from the lake,  

the shushing waves 

and wistful call of the loon

floats

 

gentle – round  

the lantern moon.

and we – weary –  

from the fun, of hours 

hiking and swimming 

in the sun

dabble  

in dreamy, half whispered 

“Kumbaya’s”

and feast,  

on the divine 

ambrosia 

of wieners and marshmallows

“HOT”

 

off a pointed stick. 

notes:  The prompt from Poetry Jam this week, is "Food". 

“Kumbaya, My Lord” means “Come by Here, Lord” in Gullah – an English-based Creole language.  It is a song of friendship and peace and is often sung at summer camps.

In ancient Greek mythology, “ambrosia” is the food and drink of the Greek gods (or demigods).  In the Homeric tradition it is brought to Olympus by doves and is thought of as a kind of divine exhalation of the Earth.

photo:  End of Day Around the Campfire – B. Bourke 

© 2014 Wendy Bourke

better with tea and bird chirps

the moody afternoon
was so very “March” –

gusting about in fickle fits:

flipping, belligerently,

from jolly-sunny to storm-a-brewing . . .

and back

in recalcitrant damp chills

and imperious blasts that belied

the – periodically –

glorious bright, blue, azure sky.

and so:

I drank steaming cups of camomile tea

and noshed on chocolate chip cookies

and listened to

Mendelssohn's Spring Song,

with bird chirps

. . . defiantly . . .

dreaming of spring. 

notes:  Felix Mendelssohn’s Spring Song (or "Frühlingslied" – 1843-1845) WITH BIRD CHIRPS - is available on the Hennie Bekker  CD the Classics II on the Solitudes - Exploring Nature with Music label, and can be found on utube (sans chirps).

camomile tea is made from the camomile plant (of the Asteraceae family) that blooms from late spring through summer.

 photo:  Field of Spring Daffodils – W. Bourke

 © 2014 Wendy Bourke